Beating The Odds
by Filthy Mudblood
Summary: Adrienne is quiet and keeps mostly to herself. So what happens when she ends up dating one of the loudest boys in school? Adrienne/George. Takes place during 5th book.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - Secret Societies

The scarlet steam train was still, waiting for students to board. Alongside the train were the words "Hogwarts Express" in gold lettering. Kids were running around, scrambling to find compartments and saying goodbye to their families. A group of redheaded children and their parents were exchanging hugs and parting comments nearby. Adrienne sighed as she observed her surroundings. It was her seventh year, the last time she'd ever be boarding this train headed to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had dreaded this for a long time, Hogwarts had become her home for the majority of six years. The homework and essays were easy to say goodbye to, but her friends, the castle, the teachers (well, some of the teachers) were not.

The sound of her name snapped her out of her daydream. "Adrienne!" They yelled again.

"Hi Bree! How was your summer?"

"Oh, it was wonderful. I just got back from Paris a week ago. My mum and dad decided to go there spur of the moment. Although I really wish you could've come along, too. At first I spent my time wandering around by myself, shopping. But then I met someone! But enough about that, we'd better get a move on if we want good seats." Bree grabbed her friends hand and pulled her along.

Adrienne laughed silently to herself. This was typical behavior to expect from her friend. The two had been best friends since their second year when they both received detention for talking in Professor McGonagall's class. The pair had spent a night cleaning the potions room for Professor Snape, who happened to be gone the whole time, giving the girls plenty of time to bond. And they'd been inseparable ever since.

Once inside the train, they dragged their trunks behind them, in search of an empty compartment. As they passed an open door, Bree pushed it open further, then stopped and said, "Sorry. Thought it was empty." When they started off again, Adrienne heard a boy inside it talking in a hushed voice about snackboxes and selling them to students, and she vaguely wondered what exactly these snackboxes consisted of, then shrugged it off.

Luckily, near the end of the train, they found a vacated apartment, and were able to stow their trunks in the luggage rack just in time for the train to make its departure. The majority of the ride was spent talking about their summers, and of course, stuffing themselves full of chocolate frogs and licorice wands. And Bree explained about the boy she met in Paris. His name was Tom, and she had fallen in love with him, or so she said. Apparently they spent every waking moment together, and he had promised to write her, and visit during Hogsmeade trips.

The start of term feast was delicious as always, and the introduction of their newest Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher came as a surprise to them all. Nobody could recall a teacher ever interrupting Headmaster Albus Dumbledore when he was speaking. And yet this pompous woman, drenched in pink from head to toe, had done it. Adrienne was surprised she hadn't noticed the woman before now. She stood out quite a bit from the rest of the staff, who all wore dark clothes. Her voice had been so sweet that it was sickening. Adrienne knew she'd tire of this teacher fast.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

And she was not at all happy when she realized it was time for class with this flashy woman. As she walked the corridors alone, she passed by Harry Potter and Peeves the school's poltergeist, who was following Harry and singing a little rhyme about how crazy Harry was. She had to admit, she felt bad for him, but she couldn't suppress a chuckle.

She managed to take her seat a few moments before Professor Umbridge stepped out of her office. "About time!" whispered Bree. Adrienne gave her an innocent look, and pulled out her books.

"NO FOOD IN MY CLASSROOM!" Professor Umbridge shrieked, her rather loud appearance scaring nearly half the students. Two red-haired boys quickly stuffed whatever it was in their school bags.

"Now then... where was I?" she said, resuming her usual sugar-coated voice. "Ah, yes. I am Professor Dolores Umbridge, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... which you all, of course, should know, from the feast last night. So has everybody got a copy of _Defensive Magical Theory?_ If not, I must ask that you leave the classroom, and only come back when you've attained a copy. Only those prepared may continue today." She scanned the room. Everyone pulled out their copies. "Good! Now let's begin!"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The first few weeks of the school year flew by. It was already October, and also the first Hogsmeade weekend. Bree had insisted on going because she'd heard from Cho Chang, a fellow Ravenclaw, that Harry Potter and his friends were having some sort of meeting, and she wanted to go. So naturally Adrienne would be going along with her. As they made their way through the crowded streets, Adrienne wrapped her cloak around her tightly, as the wind pushed up against her.

"We're here." Bree stopped. "My god. I can't believe they're having the meeting here. This place gives me the creeps."

Adrienne looked up and couldn't agree more, at what she saw. The pub looked to be abandoned, and if she didn't know the meeting was here, she would think nobody had been inside in years. The sign had the title _The Hog's Head_, and had a not too welcoming picture of a decapitated pig's head painted on. The sign itself was also hanging there loosely, as if another gust of wind would sweep it right off its hinges. "Hey, this was your idea." Adrienne groaned.

"Yeah, yeah. Well it'll be worth it won't it?"

"I don't know, you didn't even tell me what this whole thing was about."

"Oh, didn't I?"

The interior was just as she would've guessed from the outside. But at the very least it was warm. There was already a fairly large group gathered around. As they went to sit down, a boy several feet away was requesting twenty-five butterbeers from the bar owner.

"Make that 27." said a second voice, almost identical to the first.

Adrienne looked up and saw the two red-headed boys from class standing at the bar. One was looking directly at her. He smiled and she returned the gesture, then turned to see who had come. There was Padma Patil and her twin, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, and Luna Lovegood. Then, of course several Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs, none of which she recognized (other than Harry of course.) There was no surprise that the only house missing was Slytherins.

Suddenly someone was holding out a butterbeer in front of her. She looked up and saw the smiling boy from before. Or it could've been his twin, for all she knew. Her only knowledge of them was that they were Weasley's, which was obvious from their vibrant red hair and freckles.

"Thanks." Adrienne said, accepting the drink.

"No problem."

Just as he sat down beside her, Hermione Granger began to talk. She started out explaining how this idea came to be, all because Umbridge wouldn't teach them defensive spells. It wasn't until she uttered the name Voldemort that she got a reaction of the group. Many people jumped, or made noises. Marietta Edgecomb even spilled butterbeer all over, causing Adrienne to smile and fight back a laugh.

Then some idiot Adrienne didn't know went about pestering Harry for answers and tension grew. Harry made it clear to his audience that he wasn't here to talk about Cedric Diggory, and everyone expecting that should leave. Everyone stayed put, still intrigued, and Hermione continued from where she had been interrupted. At one point in the discussion people began talking about all the miraculous things Harry had done. Cho even complimented him, and Adrienne swore his face turned a light shade of pink. Once again the nagging boy from earlier, who she'd now learned was named Zacharias Smith, began arguing with Harry. This time his problem was that Harry seemed to be talking his way out of teaching them, which was not at all the case.

The Weasley boy to Adrienne's immediate right spoke up by offering to clean out Zacharias' ears for him, while holding a very dangerous looking instrument from a Zonko's bag. She laughed, causing the boy to smile at her in satisfaction. After more discussion, the meeting ended with Hermione getting everyone to sign a piece of parchment, and by insisting that this was to be kept quiet. After Adrienne signed, she headed for the door.

"Hey." Adrienne spun around. "My name's George Weasley."

She shook his outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you George. I'm Adrienne."

There was a period of silence, in which both people looked nervously at each other, and George spoke up, "Yeah... well, I'd better be off. Fred's probably waiting for me. I'll be seeing you." And with that, he disappeared through the door.

"There isn't much time left. Do you want to stop in Honeyduke's?" Bree asked.

Adrienne moved her gaze from the door to her friend and said, "Oh, sure!"

"So what was that about?" Bree asked, once they'd gotten out the door. "I saw that Weasley boy speaking to you."

"He was only introducing himself. Is there something wrong with that?" They marched onward, and headed into Honeyduke's.

"No. It's just so out of the blue." Bree picked up a box of tooth-flossing string mints and looked at her friend, who was staring off into space. "Hey, what are you smiling about?"

Adrienne snapped out of it, and looked up. "Nothing... I... nothing."

Bree smiled an all-knowing smile and said, "I saw the way he looked at you."

"What are you talking about?" She could feel her face heating up.

"And I saw the way you looked at him."

Adrienne sighed. "Okay. So I'm interested. He's cute."

"I knew it! You have a crush on a Weasley! You have a crush on a Weasley!" Bree said in a sing-song voice, waving around lollipop shaped like a rose.

"Shhh! Don't go announcing it!" Adrienne hissed. But it was already too late. For in the corner of the shop, a skinny black boy named Lee Jordan had been listening to the whole conversation.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Fred! George! I've got something to tell you!" Lee said, as he ran to catch up to the two. They turned around.

"Where have you been?" asked Fred.

"Yeah, I thought you were right behind us, and then you weren't." added George.

"Nevermind that. I was just in Honeydukes, and I overheard this conversation between two Ravenclaw girls. One was teasing the other about fancying a Weasley."

"How do you know they weren't talking about Ron?" Fred inquired. Suddenly, as if hit in the head with a bludger, he stopped, and burst out laughing. "You're right! Nevermind!"

"What did they look like?" George asked. Lee went on to describe the girls. "That's Adrienne and her friend. I don't know her name."

"A-ha! So now we know who they were talking about." grinned Fred.

"She said she thought you were cute, mate," said Lee.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

(Filthy Mudblood: Wow this is weird. I haven't written fanfiction in a long time, but I started this a while ago actually. Just now getting around to putting some up. We'll see if it turns out any good. Haha!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two – Gryffindor VS. Slytherin

Conveniently, the day after the meeting in the Hog's Head, there were notices put up around Hogwarts by the newly appointed "Hogwarts High Inquisitor", better known as Professor Umbridge.

"This High Inquisitor thing is ridiculous," Adrienne said, as she spotted the large sign pinned to the Ravenclaw house notice board. She got up from the squashy armchair she had occupied, and stepped towards it.

"What does she want now?" Bree had appeared by her side.

"Apparently we're about to be expelled. At least if Umbridge finds out. She's banned all clubs, and whatever you call this group we're in, it definitely falls under that category. We've got to be careful." Adrienne whispered.

"Yeah, I wonder if they've found a place yet."

"Assuming they do. Umbridge is going to be watching us like a hawk. I'm sure she'd notice twenty something students going to the same place at the same time."

"Then let's run her out!" exclaimed Bree.

Transfiguration was usually fun for Adrienne, but today it seemed like it would never end. Over halfway through the lesson, Professor McGonagall finally let them practice a spell. Adrienne picked her wand up from the desk and said the incantation. She nearly fell off her chair when out of the end of the wand came a bouquet of flowers. They were beautiful lillies. But wait a second... it wasn't her wand. She looked all around, finally meeting eyes with George.

"Looking for something?" he asked with a devilish grin on his face.

Adrienne tried to look casual, but it was hard not to smile. George was definitely charming, in his own way. "I take it you have my wand then?"

"And if I did find it, what would my reward be?"

"Reward?! You're the one who took it!" said Adrienne, smiling now.

"I think you owe him a kiss," said Fred, leaning over, with a wink.

"But we're in class! McGonagall will see!" Bree interjected, peeking her head out from behind her friend. Adrienne felt instantly relieved for Bree's rescue. As charming and funny as he was, she wasn't comfortable with kissing him, they weren't even dating!

George could see her hesitation, and said, "Well then, have fun using that wand!" The obvious joy on his face made her want to smack that silly grin right off his face. "I REALLY need my wand back."

"Well, my brother here has already told you the terms of agreement—"

"Whoa! I didn't agree to anything! I think you should just let me have my wand back, and be on my way with this spell before Professor McGonagall comes by and thinks I'm not working."

"This isn't a negotiation."

Adrienne looked up and saw Professor McGonagall getting closer, then turned back towards George. He now was pretending to pout. Adrienne hesitated, took another peek at McGonagall, and quickly pecked him on the cheek. "That's all?" Adrienne could feel her face burning up and was sure George could see it, which is probably why he sighed and reluctantly handed back her own wand. "And you can keep that," said George, pointing to the fake wand with the flowers at the end.

"Thanks," she muttered, turning an even darker shade of red.

As she turned back, a note was shoved in front of her. Written on it were the words:_ 'I can't believe you did that!'_ Bree had an expression of surprise on her face. She took the note back and added: '_I think it's obvious he likes you.' _As much as Adrienne felt this might be wishful thinking, George _had_ been acting strange lately. She quickly made sure George wasn't looking and scribbled down 'I hope so.'

"You're going right?" Adrienne addressed Cho as she was heading towards the door leading out of the common room.

"Of course. I'm just waiting for Marietta -- Oh, there she is!"

The four of them -- Adrienne, Bree, Cho and Marietta -- all left Ravenclaw tower, in search of the meeting. The first defense meeting was being held that night at eight o' clock in a secret room that they had never heard of. According to the other students, it was called the Room of Requirement because it would give you whatever you needed. It seemed like nonsense to Adrienne, no wands or anything of the sort, but she'd learned over the last few years that anything was possible, and if it didn't work she'd have a good laugh at everyone else.

"Okay, from what Hermione told me, it should be just here," said a rather confused looking Adrienne. "What were we supposed to do again? Walk back and forth and think of what we need, right?"

"Right. I think we should all try it," suggested Cho. They all paced back and forth, looking foolish, until all of a sudden two giant wooden doors appeared.

Adrienne was the first to enter the room. It was impressive, and seemed to be the perfect spot for their meetings, with the rows of bookshelves and lots of space to practice. There were cushions scattered on the floor, some of which seated students. The girls followed suit, and sat near the back. The room quickly filled with people. The twins were last to arrive, accompanied by Lee Jordan, as always, and sat in the back near Adrienne and her friends. Bree was nestled right in between Adrienne and George.

Shortly into Harry's introduction, Hermione interrupted with the idea that they should have a formal name. There were several suggestions, including: The Anti-Umbridge League, the Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group, and the Defense Association. Of course everyone agreed with Ginny's idea for Dumbledore's Army. Even though it was a secret society, the name still held a feeling of empowerment among its members.

Eventually they began practicing the disarming spell in partners. Adrienne feeling courageous took a couple steps towards George and said, "Aren't you going to ask to be my partner?"

George, looking taken aback, replied with, "Sorry Miss, but I would never hurt a lady."

"OH, but if I get hurt it's alright, eh?" Fred asked, pretending to be hurt.

After successfully disarming Bree five times, she was bored, so she looked over and saw that Fred and George were casting spells on Zacharias Smith, making his wand fly out of his hand, every time he began to speak. Adrienne laughed as Harry came around, and George simply said, "Sorry Harry. Couldn't resist." Everyone continued practicing for quite some time and finally a whistle blew from the opposite side of the room, causing everyone to stop and stare at Harry. He announced that it was past nine and that they should all head back.

"See you around," said George, as he left with several other Gryffindor's.

"See you," replied Adrienne.

Adrienne woke up bright and early the morning of the first Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin. She was never much of a Quidditch fan, but went to all the games because all her friends did. This time she was looking forward to watching George Weasley play.

"Better wear lots of layers. Cho's just been outside and she said it's pretty chilly." Bree commented as she saw Adrienne was awake.

In the girls' dormitories growling could be heard coming from the Ravenclaw common room. Naturally everyone poked their heads out, and went to investigate. Standing in the center of the room, alone, with a large stuffed lion on her head, was Luna Lovegood. Upon discovering the source of the noise, nobody was surprised, and they all resumed whatever they were doing. A 5th year named Kendall muttered, "Freak" as she walked off. Luna had always been a strange girl, earning her the nickname "Looney" Lovegood. Adrienne always thought she was nice, but she couldn't believe all the outrageous stories she told.

Outside, the whole school anxiously awaited the start of the match. The stands were filled with colors of crimson, gold, silver and green. Banners were waving this way and that, and people were chanting for their choice team.

Once the match had begun, Adrienne was reminded of how entertaining Lee Jordan's commentaries always were. Although she was only halfway paying attention. She was too busy staring at George... or was it Fred? At any rate, she was able to keep track of them once they were mentioned in the commentary. George hit the Slytherin team captain, Montague, in the head with a bludger causing Adrienne to jump up and cheer, much louder than she had intended, but going unnoticed by Bree. The game went on with Slytherin making several goals, since Gryffindor's new keeper Ron Weasley wasn't able to stop any. But suddenly Harry and Malfoy were neck and neck, diving to the ground, and Harry got the snitch just as he was hit with a bludger. Although nobody seemed to care because Gryffindor won!

As people began to leave, Adrienne made her way down to the field. She was halfway there when she saw three girls from the team holding back one of the twins, and Harry holding back the other, a laughing Malfoy standing several feet from them. All of a sudden Harry let go of the boy he was holding back, and they both charged straight at Malfoy hitting every square inch they could find. As this was happening she heard, "Harry! George! NO!" Soon enough, Madam Hooch was on the ground yelling at the both of them, until they turned around and walked off the field.

Adrienne was wandering the corridors alone thinking, when all of a sudden, George came around the corner looking rather depressed. Upon seeing her, his mood seemed to lighten, he was smiling, although not as much as normal. "Hey Adrienne."

(Filthy Mudblood: Thank you so much to everyone who read my last chapter, and reviewed. Sorry for the delay on this, I have so much more going on now than ages ago when I used to write, so it might take a little while sometimes.)


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